Keyen Farrell Cooks Lobsters with New Haven Middle Schoolers

Last week I had the pleasure of leading a cooking class at St. Martin de Porres in New Haven Connecticut. We had a blast! For the past 10 years I've fished for Lobsters off the Connecticut Coast as a hobby, and I took the catch of the day down to the boys at St. Martin de Porres.

These Lobsters were pulled from the waters off Guilford, Connecticut. Long Island Sound suffered a massive lobster die-off over a decade ago, and stocks have recovered nicely in some local fisheries. For $60 per year, the state allows you to tend as many as ten lobster traps.

To say the boys were happy to add some seafood to their lunch menu would be an understatement! They loved checking out the creatures - One of the boys wanted to take one home as a pet. He was eating lobster 20 minutes later with no regrets.

I also brought along an old lobster trap with me. They got to see how the lobster enters the trap and gets caught which was really neat.

St. Martin de Porres Academy is a faith-based nativity middle school that provides tuition free, extended day education for underserved girls and boys from low-income families in the New Haven area.

The lobsters we cooked were steamed - in my opinion the best way to cook lobsters. Boiling can produce a waterlogged & overcooked lobster. I've been cooking lobsters for a long time and if there's one piece of advice I'd give, it's to cook them for less than you've been taught. It's amazing how the flavors come out if the lobster is cooked for even a minute or two less than you'd expect.

In case anyone's interested, here is the Keyen Farrell go-to steamed lobster recipe:

1. Fill the pot with two to three inches of water.

2. Add 1/4-1/3 cup of salt per gallon of water.

3. Insert a steaming rack into the pot if you have one. If not, you can use a bed of smooth stones.

4. Bring the water to a boil.

5. Add the lobsters to the pot, cover, and begin timing

6. Place the lid on the pot and return the water to a boil.

7. Plan on 10 minutes for the first pound of lobster, and two additional minutes for every additional 1/4 pound. A 1 1/4 pound lobster will take 12 minutes, a 1 1/2 pound lobster should get 14 minutes, and a 2 pound lobster will need around 18 minutes.